EDUCATION MYTHS

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Contents
Preface
Introduction
Reviews 
About the author

TEACHER THINKING
Beliefs
Metaphors
Values
Meaning

EDUCATION MYTHS
Curriculum 
Knowledge
Teaching
Learning

ARTICLES

WORKSHOPS  

MEDIA 

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“Advice is like snow; the softer it falls the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind.”
~Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Coleridge’s words are equally true of any idea to which people are exposed repeatedly and without examination, such as myths. Myths are socially or culturally accepted stories about “reality” that people have constructed over time. Joseph Campbell defined myth as "the experience of life." As people move through their individual lives, they experience it—find meaning in it—uniquely. 

Individuals within a culture, such as education, may begin to share similar meanings. This "group story" then becomes the prevailing myth. The myth is "true" only to the extent that it accurately mirrors life within the culture. Over time, the culture changes. The experience of life within that culture is informed by new advances, new knowledge. But the original myth is not so quickly updated. It remains the "story" to which those within the culture compare their experience. 

It is only when the original myth becomes so outdated that it bears little relationship to the experience of the culture that a new myth may replace it. Until then, it's power to shape the culture remains largely intact. This is particularly true in education. Many of the myths of education—the tenets of conventional wisdom—are long overdue for re-evaluation.

Psychologist Arthur Combs (1) points out the dangers accompanying any myth.

	Myths contain a “germ” of truth. Because partial truth yields partial solutions to existing problems, people continue to do research based on the myth for a long time, even when no overall solutions are forthcoming.
	Myths are often expressed as dichotomies, thus limiting the use of a wide range of strategies. Either objectivism or constructivism; either individualized learning or standards; either strong discipline or concern for self-esteem.
	Myths justify our preferred behaviors and constrain others. People can always find good reasons in their myths for the things they’d rather do (or not do).
	Myths become institutionalized and therefore exempt from question. When someone says, “Everyone knows that…,” what follows is often a myth. Questioning such statements opens a person to ridicule. Once a culture or social institution has adopted a myth, it is very robust and difficult to dislodge.

Myths are based on experiences that may be true in some contexts but not in others. As the culture or social institution changes, the contexts change. Through the accretion of new information, the mythical stories become inappropriate or outdated. They produce contradictions and inconsistencies that seem beyond resolution—and they are, as long as the institution retains the myth. Such is the case with education. Education needs new storytellers who will write the stories for the future.

Educational theorists such as Arthur Combs (2), Ellen Langer (3), Neil Postman (4), Larry Cuban (5), and others (6) have identified a number of educational myths that are worthy of examination. Their writings are a place to begin in exploring fruitful alternatives to conventional wisdom.

The metaphors of educational myths are another deterrent to change. Conventional wisdom forms the foundation stones in the edifice of traditional education. Education as a structure is a strong and pervasive metaphor. It is not, however, without limitations. People’s experience of structures, particularly those with solid foundations, is one of stability and permanence. A recommendation to begin hacking away at the foundations of those structures is unthinkable. Such heresy is met with horror and disdain. This makes it doubly difficult to see the decay that actually exists in the foundations.

Mindful change, based on determined self-examination and regard for what is rather than what experts say should be, offers great promise. Before shaking their heads at the failure of today’s youth to live up to educator’s expectations, it is imperative that educators look to themselves. Carl Jung said that, “If there is anything we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves.”

References

2  Ibid. (Return to article)

3 Langer, E. J. (1997) The Power of Mindful Learning. A Merloyd Lawrence Book. Reading, PA: Addison-Wesley (Return to article)

4 Postman, N. (1995) The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. (Return to article)

5 Cuban, L. (1992, Oct.). The Corporate Myth of Reforming Public Schools. Phi Delta Kappan, 157-159. (Return to article)

6 See also Illich, I. (1971) Deschooling Society. World Perspectives, Vol. 44, New York: Harper & Row. Tobin, K. & McRobbie, C. J. (1996). Cultural Myths As Constraints to the Enacted Science Curriculum. Science Education, Vol. 80, No. 2, 223-241. Britzman, D. (1986). Cultural Myths in the Making of a Teacher, Harvard Educational Review, Vol. 56, 442-256. (Return to article)

Common Educational Myths

Here are links to several articles about the "conventional wisdom" of education. Failure to periodically reexamine what we mean by the "buzzwords" of education—words such as teaching, learning, knowledge, and curriculum—has resulted in some meanings taking on mythic qualities. Such myths make productive change extremely difficult if not impossible. 

Myths About Curriculum

Myths About Knowledge 

Myths About Teaching 

Myths About Learning